It has been recognized that fires exhibit different types of characteristics as they develop. For example, flaming fires often have very low smoke levels. Such fires need to be detected as soon as possible as they are known to be able to spread at a faster rate than smoldering fires.
Smoldering fires may not spread at the same rate as flaming fires. On the other hand, smoldering fires have been recognized as generators of extensive amounts of smoke which can be quite dangerous.
Various systems have been developed in the past to address these different fire profiles. Representative samples include Tice U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,262 entitled “Fire Alarm System with Different Types of Sensors and Dynamic System Parameters”, Tice U.S. Pat. No. 5,612,674 entitled “High Sensitivity Apparatus and Method with Dynamic Adjustment for Noise”, and Tice U.S. Pat. No. 6,659,292 entitled “Apparatus Including a Fire Sensor and a Non-Fire Sensor”. The noted patents are all assigned to the assignee hereof and incorporated by reference.
While known systems have been effective for their intended purpose, there continues to be a need for systems with faster fire detection, while at the same time, minimizing the likelihood of nuisance alarms. The need to minimize nuisance or false alarms is ongoing, notwithstanding the desirability of faster fire detection.
Systems and methods of fire detection which shorten response times for detection of actual fire conditions while at the same time being flexible enough to minimize the likelihood of false alarms, avoid the inconvenience and economic losses which can be associated with false alarms.